After solving a case in Istanbul, world famous detective Hercule Poirot boards
the Orient Express in what he hopes will be a quick and restful ride to England.
During the night, the train is stopped in its tracks by a deep snowdrift. As
the train lies silent, millionaire Rachett is murdered in his sleep. At the
request of the director of the train line, Poirot begins his investigation of
the Murder on the Orient Express. What unfolds is a peculiar
mystery and a bevy of unusual and extraordinary characters.
Directed by Sidney Lumet, this 1974 theatrical version of Murder on
the Orient Express does a remarkable job bringing Agatha Christie’s
classic story to life. The star studded cast (including Sean Connery, Lauren
Bacall, Anthony Perkins and Ingrid Bergman to name a few) does a tremendous
job at filling the roles of the supporting characters, but what makes this film
is Albert Finney’s portrayal of Poirot. I, myself, am a Finney fan and
find to be his Poirot perfect.
The other larger-than-life character in the movie is the train itself. The
intimate setting of the train and its quiet, stranded situation add to the atmosphere
in a way nothing else could. With the addition of Richard Bennett’s original
waltz, this memorable classic is as good now to watch as it was 30 years ago.
The film has been presented here in its original widescreen format, nicely
cleaned and digitally transferred; the soundtrack has been remastered into Dolby
Digital 5.1. Being that this is an older film, the restoration of the video
is superb, and the audio has never sounded so good! The overall movie and presentation
on this DVD gets a solid A. It’s really a pleasure to watch – even
for the hundredth time!
The special features on this disc, although small in number, are large in content.
There is no audio commentary, which is a shame, but there is still over an hour
of extras to watch. Considering this movie is 30 years old, the fact that they
made NEW documentaries/featurettes is pretty impressive. I give the extras a
B; there could have had more, but those included are definitely better than
average for a movie this old being released on DVD. The extras on this disc
are:
• “Agatha Christie: A Portrait” – This is a nice 10
minute retrospective of the marvelous writer who was Agatha Christie. The featurette
touches on her life, her legacy and the development of her book, Murder
on the Orient Express. Most touching about this short portrait is an
interview with Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, who runs the Agatha
Christie estate and thinks the world of his grandmother and her work.
• “Making Murder on the Orient Express” – This 50 minute
documentary is in four parts: All Aboard (focusing on the adaptation of the
book for the screen); The Ride (focusing on the Orient Express itself and the
shoot in general); The Passengers (focusing on the characters and the actors
that played them); and End Of The Line (which looks at putting the film together,
its release and the success that followed). This thorough and interesting documentary
is filled with interviews from the film’s director, actors, producers,
composer and costume designer. I was very pleased they took the time to put
this together, as it was apparent that everyone involved loved working on the
film and all thought very highly of and respected each other.
• The Theatrical Trailer is also on the disc.
Murder on the Orient Express has been released to the public
again, this time in a fully restored and remastered widescreen surround sound
presentation on DVD. This classic masterpiece has never looked and sounded so
good. With the addition of over an hour of newly produced bonus material, and
considering the low retail price ($15, which means you can probably find it
for $10), this DVD is definitely a good buy for Agatha Christie fans –
or just anyone that enjoys a good old fashioned whodunnit.
DVD Film Score: A
DVD Special Features Score: B
DVD Overall Score: B
This
page is maintained by Lisa Zlotnick. For questions,
comments, sponsorship opportunities, publicity, or other inquiries, please
send an e-mail to: contact@dvdfanatic.com
